UN Photo/Manuel Elias
UNODC Executive Director speaking at the General Assembly High Level Debate on crimes that affect the environment.
Crimes that affect the environment affect states’ ability to exercise authority over their territory, safeguard their natural wealth, support their economies and protect the well-being of their citizens, the United Nations General Assembly heard at a high-level debate on Monday, 8 June.
“For too long, these crimes were viewed primarily through a conservation lens,” Monica Juma, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) told the Assembly. “But that framing is no longer sufficient.”
Crimes that affect the environment – which can include wildlife trafficking, illegal mining, waste trafficking, forest crime and more – “are a rapidly evolving form of transnational organized crime that is exploiting natural resources, weakening institutions, and generating illicit profits on a global scale,” Ms. Juma noted.
The comprehensive nature of crimes that affect the environment “is a reminder that these crimes not only jeopardize our environment but pose threats to our societies, institutions and economies,” noted the President of the General Assembly, H.E. Annalena Baerbock.
The high-level debate was designed to allow Member States to exchange information on trends and best practices on how to respond to these crimes.
Commodification of nature by organized crime
Crimes that affect the environment are not thus solely about the environment, Ms. Juma noted. They should be understood as matters of justice, security and the rule of law.
Many organized crime groups who commit crimes that affect the environment are also involved in other serious crimes, notably drug trafficking, arms smuggling and human trafficking for forced labour.
“Different commodities, different markets, but the same criminal business model,” Ms. Juma said.
Such a model can be seen in the Amazon Basin, where organized criminal groups are destroying forests, polluting rivers and challenging state authority through illegal logging and mining. In the Golden Triangle, these crimes are linked with the drug economy, while in the Sahel, illegal gold and diamond mining finance armed groups and undermine governance.
“These threats represent the commodification of nature by organized crime,” Ms. Juma underscored. “They generate billions of dollars in illicit profits each year, fuelling corruption and money laundering, while distorting trade and legitimate economies.”
Three conventions for international cooperation
The international community has several instruments through which to cooperate on addressing crimes that affect the environment. The UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) provides a framework for Member States to request mutual legal assistance, conduct joint investigations and enhance law enforcement cooperation across borders.
By implementing the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), meanwhile, Member States can combat corruption, a key enabler of crimes that affect the environment.
Finally, the UN Convention against Cybercrime provides a new tool to facilitate the sharing of electronic evidence on these crimes.
“We have a robust international legal framework at our disposal,” Ms. Juma noted. “Yet this framework is only as strong as the justice systems that enforce it.”
As guardian and Secretariat of these Conventions, UNODC assists Member States in their implementation, including by providing legislative guidance and strengthening institutional frameworks.
UNODC also supports countries to strengthen criminal justice responses to crimes that affect the environment, including by building the capacity of law enforcement and judicial officials to effectively investigate, prosecute and adjudicate these crimes.
In 2025 alone, UNODC supported more than 80 investigations and contributed to enforcement operations across 59 countries on crimes that affect the environment. Such support led to over 200 wildlife and timber seizures.
Gaps in responses
Ms. Juma highlighted several recommendations for the international community. Many jurisdictions still do not have sufficient penalties or do not treat such offences as “serious crimes” under UNTOC, limiting opportunities for international cooperation and the deployment of specialized investigative techniques.
As noted by UNODC’s Global Analysis of Crimes that Affect the Environment, for example, while 86 per cent of Member States have criminalized offences against wildlife, fewer than half have imposed penalties of at least four years imprisonment for these offences.
“In other words, the legal architecture is largely in place, but it is unevenly applied,” said Ms. Juma. “And it is precisely these gaps and vulnerabilities that criminal networks exploit and which we must strive to close.”
The international community must also collect and share more data, particularly on illegal mining, illegal fishing and waste crime. With better data comes better policy and more effective enforcement.
Thirdly, Ms. Juma noted, the private sector must be engaged as a strategic partner, because criminal markets often intersect with legitimate economies and global supply chains. “Businesses have an important role to play in strengthening due diligence, identifying suspicious activity, bringing innovative technology to the table, and preventing illicit commodities from entering legal markets.”
Finally, Ms. Juma stressed to “follow the money. Every shipment of illegally harvested timber, every trafficked wildlife product, every illicit mineral transaction generates a financial trail that can expose criminal networks, corrupt facilitators and the beneficiaries behind these crimes.” Financial investigations are therefore crucial for enforcement and targeting the business model that sustains these activities.
A step towards recognition of our collective responsibility
Ms. Baerbock concluded her remarks by urging delegates to “not simply to diagnose the problem, but to identify practical ways forward: to strengthen cooperation, make better use of existing mechanisms, and build the collective response this challenge demands.”
“I hope that this leads to a stronger, more coordinated global response, as we work together to protect our planet and its precious natural treasures, for the benefit of humanity today and future generations to come,” Ms. Juma concluded.
